At Nature Camp, learning beneath the trees

The experience of Nature Camp near Vesuvius, Va., spans generations for both campers and counselors. (Video by Mike Tripp/The News Leader)

Laura Peters, lpeters@newsleader.com 10:21 p.m. EDT July 19, 2014

Camp participant Tanner Shultz, 17, of South Carolina chooses to spend his free time working in the comfort of a hammock at Nature Camp near Vesuvius on Wednesday, June 25, 2014.(Photo: Mike Tripp/The News Leader)

VESUVIUS – Tucked away in a glen between two mountains is a small cozy environment for learning.

With no cellphones or computers, campers just have pencil, paper and the world around them.

Nature Camp has been around since 1942 and is still going strong. First started by the Virginia Federation of Garden Clubs, Nature Camp has been its own entity for the past eight years.

Anunconventional summer camp for fifth- to 12th-graders, the camp combines the love of nature and environment with continual learning — a concept that engages campers.

Nature Camp mainly draws 90 to 95 percent of its campers from Virginia, but the camp has hosted campers from all over the country.

Camp participant Tanner Shultz, 17, of South Carolina chooses to spend his free time working in the comfort of a hammock at Nature Camp near Vesuvius on Wednesday, June 25, 2014. (Photo: Mike Tripp/The News Leader)

Camp participants sit in a circle outdoors, listening to one of their instructors during an entomology class at Nature Camp near Vesuvius on Wednesday, June 25, 2014. (Photo: Mike Tripp/The News Leader)

Lars Nelson, an instructor in geology and head counselor of boys, talks about the composition of one of the rocks at the camp as he leads a geology class at Nature Camp near Vesuvius on Wednesday, June 25, 2014. (Photo: Mike Tripp/The News Leader)

Lars Nelson, an instructor in geology and head counselor of boys, has one foot on a rock as he leads a geology class at Nature Camp near Vesuvius on Wednesday, June 25, 2014. (Photo: Mike Tripp/The News Leader)

Adam Geilker, a camp counselor and instructor in botany, talks about various forms of plant life while leading a botany class at Nature Camp near Vesuvius on Wednesday, June 25, 2014. (Photo: Mike Tripp/The News Leader)

Cady van Assendelft, 16; Collin Yurish, 15; and Sarah Riddell, 15, are all three are from Staunton and choose to participate in Nature Camp near Vesuvius on Wednesday, June 25, 2014. (Photo: Mike Tripp/The News Leader)

All three from Staunton, Cady van Assendelft, 16; and Sarah Riddell, 15; and Collin Yurish, 15, walk together at the start of free time at Nature Camp near Vesuvius on Wednesday, June 25, 2014. (Photo: Mike Tripp/The News Leader)

Camp participant Tanner Shultz, 17, of South Carolina chooses to spend his free time working in the comfort of a hammock at Nature Camp near Vesuvius on Wednesday, June 25, 2014. (Photo: Mike Tripp/The News Leader)

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a trip down memory lane for for Philip Coulling. Starting as an 11-year-old camper in 1979, Coulling has been the executive director of the camp since 2004.

Even the door to his summer quarters maintains the name "Flip" — his camp nickname given to him 35 years ago.

"I think what makes Nature Camp special are the rich traditions we have," Coulling said.

"Almost everyone who comes here buys into what we ask of them," he added. It's not a typical summer camp. "They are coming here and doing some work. They're sitting down and taking classes and doing work outside the classroom."

"But the thing is, not only do they accept it, they enjoy it," Coulling said.

The camp has remained fairly unchanged — just some updates over the years.

Operating on an annual budget of about $300,000, the camp's most recent overhaul came in 2006. The camp received $650,000 through grants and donations by the Nature Camp Foundation, which is run by alumni. The camp underwent major renovations and upgrades to improve the infrastructure.

The camp has four different sessions for four different age groups. Each camper takes 11 classes that last 10 days. Within those classes, they pick a major that they study throughout their two weeks at camp.

From botany to ecology to geology, every class is centered around things that can be discovered around the camp. Classes are outdoors, with time spent searching for mushrooms or looking at rocks, even exploring the nearby creek.

This is their connection to the natural world, Coulling said.

Campers also have access to a science lab with microscopes and other equipment, as well as a library with thousands of books on nature-related science.

A day at camp

The first session, which began June 15 for students in grades 9 through 12, hosted 89 campers — nine over capacity. Boys and girls have their own bunkhouses separated by the main office. Each bunkhouse can hold 40 campers. The overflow of girls was housed in the extra bunks within the main office's cabin.

Entering the girls bunks, you come straight into a room with four bunk beds. Straight ahead is where the counselors sleep.

Entering the room, the walls are filled with photos and small knick-knacks, something that counselor Katie Ingebretsen, 20, of Fredericksburg said has been going on for quite some time. It's their collection. Although the campers have their own bath houses, what they call T-houses, the counselors get the privilege of their own privy within the room.

It's mandatory for campers to keep the cabins clean. Beds are made daily, dirt is swept and there are small cubicles to keep toothbrushes and photos up and out of the way.

The entire bunkhouse is a small cabin made of wood. There are wooden bunks, wooden frames and wooden locker-like inserts in the walls to hang clothing. Each camper has a trunk, where they store most of their belongings. Although there are walls, they do not go entirely to the ceiling, allowing airflow throughout the cabin.

There's no air conditioning at camp, but at least there's running water.

Since they are in the mountains, the temperature rarely reaches above 80 degrees and always cools down at night, Coulling said.

Campers start their day about 7:30 a.m.

Breakfast comes after wake up, then straight into class at 9 a.m.

By 10:30 a.m., there is morning recreation, where campers can go on hikes, hang out and read, swim in the pool or play games on the lawn area.

By noon, the camp is silently waiting for announcements in the cafeteria, or what they call the L.S. Building, which is named for Lillian Shilling, who founded the camp. Each camper takes turns during their stay to head over to where the food is served and pass out large bowls of what is being served.

Everything is served family style at the camp, which is reflective of the meaning of Nature Camp — once you are a part of Nature Camp you are part of the family.

Large bowls of snap peas, chicken salad and hummus are passed around. Coulling said 60 percent of the camp's food budget goes directly to purchasing local produce.

After lunch, it's rest time, which Coulling says is mainly for the counselors to relax. This is a time when the campers usually nap and they can't bother the counselors. It's like a recharging time.

Ingebretsen uses it to relax and read a book under the shade of the trees.

In the afternoon, there's one more class, dinner, a camp-wide program and campers are in bed by 10.

The counselors

Counselors teach the classes to campers. There is a total of 25 counselors, an assistant director, three cooks and an emergency medical person. The only full-time employees are Coulling and a year-round groundskeeper.

For some, Nature Camp is in their blood. Numerous campers have had family members attend in the past. Coulling has a niece who has started coming to the camp. Even the counselors were once campers, like Ingebretsen who spent seven years as a camper.

Simon McKay, 20, of Boyce had been a camper for six years. His time at camp shaped what he wanted to study at Virginia Tech — geology — which was his major at camp in 2006. Now serving his first year as a counselor, he is now a role model for other campers, as his counselors were to him.

McKay's aunt came to Nature Camp in the 1970s, which prompted him to check it out. McKay first came in 2006 and was fully sponsored by his local garden club to attend.

Coulling said that most of the campers get scholarships from local sponsors for the two-week session's cost of $815. About 45 percent of campers receive financial assistance, Coulling said.

Although the camp is intense with the amount of work a camper has to do, the rewards are abundant.

"It gives you a deeper appreciation of the world around you," McKay said. "There's so much energy and excitement."

Being surrounded by mountains gives the camp a sense of seclusion. McKay said even if a camper comes to one session, they are immediately a part of Nature Camp's traditions for eternity, like Sunday hikes with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches they call "squishies."

"Everything you do is deep in tradition," McKay said. "This is one of the most beautiful places. If you come in willing to work and experience the world around you, you kind of open your mind to new ideas."

Lars Nelson, head counselor for the boys, started as a camper in 1967. In 1970, he came back as a counselor until 1976. In 2007, Nelson returned again.

A teacher at Rockbridge County High School, Nelson has his summers off, so he decided to be a counselor once again at Nature Camp. Even though he's a good amount older than the other campers and counselors, he still learns something new every day.

"Even though I come to teach, I learn something," he said. "The other counselors inspire me to learn new things. I come here to learn."

Much like other counselors, Nature Camp inspired Nelson to become a teacher.

The campers

Sam Squyars, 17, of Williamsburg has been a camper for four years. As she enters her last year of camp and high school, her experience through camp has inspired her to go to Virginia Tech and study wildlife science.

She also wants to hike the Appalachian Trail, all thanks to her time at camp.

Even Squyars' mom came to Nature Camp when she was little.

"That's kind of what inspired me to come here," she said.

"What surprised me is how close people get at camp," Squyars added. "You become a family together, you take classes together, you learn together and you really grow close."

Cady Van Assendelft, 16, and Sarah Riddell, 15, both of Staunton, first found out about Nature Camp through a mutual friend.

Riddell's friends back home joke that she goes to "nerd camp" each year, but it doesn't bother her. She loves the structure and learning environment she's put into.

"I don't go to a lot of other camps," she said.

Riddell said attending Nature Camp is something totally different than the rest of her summer.